judith meskill's knowledge notes...

more on 'the outsourcing of america'...

Or 'A preponderance of mixed messages for an under-employed American 'knowledge worker' force in an election year.'

"I'm all for united action, and so are the 34 coalition partners we have in Iraq right now. Yet America must never outsource America's national security decisions to the leaders of other governments."

-- President Bush, 2/23/04 [CNN.com - Bush takes on critics - Feb. 24, 2004]

To which Cynthia Typaldos replies:

Even the president is worried about possible outsourcing of his job. With the upcoming election and the proposal to allow foreign-born citizens to become president he does have valid concerns.

However, if you add in his own (and Greenspan's) rhetoric about how outsourcing is good for America, and job losers should retrain, his attempt to defend his job against outsourcing seems NIMBY [Not In My Backyard.]

Cynthia then cites a reference to the following Greenspan article:

"There is a palpable unease that businesses and jobs are being drained from the United States, with potentially adverse long-run implications for unemployment and the standard of living of the average American," Greenspan said in prepared remarks delivered to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. His solution to the problem, as he told Congress last week, is to do a better job of educating American workers. [Greenspan sees 'unease' about jobs - Feb. 20, 2004]

A question that I have for Greenspan is: How much more 'education' do American workers need? From where I stand, here on the East Coast of these United States of America, we have an alarming number of highly skilled, highly educated American 'knowledge workers' who are either un-employed or seriously under-employed.

Alas, I agree with Cynthia that the President should be concerned about the outsourcing of his own 'knowledge worker' job - and the 'jobs' of his top security advisory staff. But then, as I have ruminated in prior posts - inspired by Carly Fiorina's advice that: "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore, we have to compete for jobs." - I am left to wonder: "Wasn't George W. Bush listening?" And when President Bush's chief economic adviser, Greg Mankiw, who said "outsourcing" - sending white-collar service jobs abroad where labor is cheaper - was a good thing, was George W. Bush not listening then either? Did he not reflect on the color of his own collar on the day Mankiw made that proclamation?

I am befuddled by Mr. Bush's confusing stance on 'outsourcing.' On one hand I read - Bush opposes outsourcing - Deccan Herald: ...Mr. Bush said in a speech in the industrial state of Pennsylvania: "There are people looking for jobs because jobs have gone overseas." He said, "We need to act to make sure there are more jobs at home, and people are more likely to to retain a job."... and then, look over here - Bush economic report praises 'outsourcing' jobs.

It is no small wonder that the White House found both Democrats and Republicans alike distancing themselves from the insensitivity of President Bush's chief economic adviser, Greg Mankiw's stance - that Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., chairman of the House Small Business Committee, who called for Bush to fire Mankiw, described as: "He would probably stick his finger in the face of one of my unemployed people and say, 'You are out of work. Congratulations. That is good for the economy, good for America,'" Manzullo said. [White House Outsourcing Remark Ignites Firestorm]

And to think - in an 'election year.'

K-Collector Topics: Economics Education faces knowledge work Listening Outsourcing Security Thinking America Iraq
February 24, 2004 02:45 PM | google it! | threadorati